Flame of Prometheus
}} The Flame of Prometheus is a magical fire that was used by Merlin to forge the Holy Grail into Excalibur in an attempt to cut away his magical power. Emma Swan later reignites the flame and uses it to unite the broken Excalibur with the Dark One's dagger. History 'Before the Curse' After Nimue and Merlin enter a relationship, the latter wants to propose but is fearful because he is immortal and she isn't, meaning he would leave her behind. When he tells her that he received his magic from the holy grail, she suggests that she drink from it too and be immortal like him, but he doesn't wish that upon her, explaining how immortality makes life less meaningful. Instead, the two of them quest to the Flame of Prometheus so that Merlin can remold the holy grail into a sword that is capable of cutting away his magic. On the way, Nimue walks through her ruined village and wishes death upon Vortigan, who's following them. When the sword is finally created from the grail, Vortigan arrives and attacks Nimue, causing her to bleed out in Merlin's arms. Vortigan then takes the sword and tries attacking Merlin with it, only for Nimue to rip his heart out. She explains that she earlier drank from the grail behind Merlin's back and gained her own magic, and she proceeds to use it for proper revenge by crushing Vortigan's heart and killing him. This turns her magic dark, and thus she becomes the first Dark One. She takes the sword and breaks it against the Promethean flame's stand, with the flame itself having gone out, to avoid her magic and immortality being cut away. ("Nimue") 'Before the Third Curse' Merlin explains that he and Emma will be questing to the Flame of Prometheus to receive a spark capable of reforging both halves of Excalibur, later telling her that in order to gain the spark, she's going to have to pull the ember from the first Dark One, who shall appear to her through vision and give her the toughest test yet in terms of battling the darkness. They soon make it to Oxleigh and beyond where the Promethean flame used to burn, and Emma holds up the Dark One's dagger and uses it to summon the first Dark One. To her shock, it isn't a man like she expected, but rather Merlin's first true love Nimue. She tries convincing Emma to kill Merlin, but she resists and forces the ember from Nimue. ("Nimue") Upon returning to Granny's Diner, Emma attempts to reignite the ember, but she fails. The darkness appears to her and explains she won't be able to light it if she's not willing to give up her dark powers. After rescuing her family from Arthur and Zelena, Emma is finally willing to give up her dark powers and able to ignite the flame. She uses it to reunite Excalibur with the dagger, but is then forced to tether a dying Hook to the sword, making him a Dark One too. 'After the Third Curse' 'Season 5' Emma now has both halves of Excalibur, as well as the means to unite them. The vision of Rumplestiltskin points out that it's a thing of magnificence and asks her if she knows what the sword as a whole represents. She assumes power, but he tells her that it's history, adding that Excalibur's promise was forged long ago and that now it's finally going to come to fruition. He tells her that it's time and she wonders why he won't leave her alone, at which a new vision of Nimue appears and tells her that they couldn't; she says that Rumplestiltskin's eyes are fine to look through most days, but that she wanted to see this for herself. Soon enough, every single past Dark One appears to Emma via vision, encouraging her to repair the sword. Emma soon takes the ember from the Flame of Prometheus and retrieves the spark from within, compressing it into a ball of light which hangs in midair as she forces the two ends of Excalibur into it. Soon enough, the sword is complete, but Emma hesitates before going to pluck it from the air. She tells a confused Nimue that Merlin told her not to do exactly this when she was a little girl, at which the first Dark One points out that she's a woman now, and the Dark Swan is convinced the take the power when all the others chant for her to do so. She stands there, holding the complete Excalibur, her plan ready to unfold. ("Nimue") Category:Items